There are many facilities today where it is desirable to have a high level of security. For such a facility, it is desirable to deter intrusion; but if an intrusion occurs, it is desirable to discourage and/or prevent the intruder from completing their nefarious purpose while intruding at the facility. Various alarm systems, for example, trigger sound and/or light alarms intended to indicate detection to the intruder and scare the intruder away. Security systems with associated lighting may be used in various government and private enterprise facilities and even in some private residences.
Flashing light systems or devices have also been proposed that may disorient or disable a person. For example, some proposed systems repeatedly flash a light at intensity, color and/or frequency chosen to induce negative effects on a person in the vicinity. This type of approach has been suggested both for implementation as a handheld device similar to a flashlight and for an implementation as a lighting system using one or more fixtures or lamps installed in the secure facility. The flashing light may temporarily blind the person or persons in the vicinity that have breeched the security. Some flashing light sequences may even induce various uncomfortable effects in the mind or body of any person subjected to the light flashing. Although such lighting may disorient or disable a person, it is non-lethal. The intended target, an intruder at the facility or perpetrator who is the target of the flashlight type device, typically will be unable to complete his or her mission. Yet that person usually will not be permanently harmed by exposure to the light, and other people in the vicinity also should not be permanently harmed by collateral exposure to the light.
However, there is still room for further improvement in these types of security lighting systems. For example, with a handheld device, it is necessary for the user to shine the device in the face of the perpetrator, which may not be practical in all situations. If attempted, and unsuccessful, use of such a handheld device may expose the user to an attack by the perpetrator. In a system that uses installed lamps or fixtures as the lighting sources, the impact on the intruder may be reduced if the intruder happens not to be looking at a lamp or fixture at a critical moment in the modulated light sequence. Also, in systems that use a sequence of flashing light to disorient or disable, the algorithms of the light sequencing have been somewhat limited. As a result, a flashing sequence that impacts one person may have little or no effect on another person of different physical, mental or emotional characteristics, e.g. of a different age, of a different physique or having a different optical sensitivity.